High School Changes Everything
by KnifeInTheCrayonBox
Summary: Fern's been gone for the summer before freshmen year, and when she gets back she finds things different from how she left them. She's finally starting High School, and with it comes new crushes, new experiences, and a sense of newfound freedom. Will anything change, or will things remain the same as when they were in elementary school?
1. First Day

**Ok, so Fern has always been my favorite character from Arthur, so I though, why not make a story about her? This is just the start, explaining how the Arthur gang has changed and how Fern sees things, the next chapters will be better and longer and will start to get into the plot. How the characters dress and look is taken from the episode where it showed them in the future when they were 13.**

* * *

_Lakewood High School_, the sign read. Fern adjusted the backpack that was slung across her shoulder and she gulped. After a long summer spent in Crown City she was coming back and starting High School as a freshman. Prunella had already warned them how hard it was being a freshman, and Fern was nervous. She turned to look at the parking lot when she heard a car roll up and saw it was, instead, a limo.

She recognized Bailey as he stepped out of the car and opened the door for Muffy. She flipped her long, auburn hair over her shoulder as she looked around the school. Fern noticed how long her hair had grown during the summer, and that she didn't have it in braids anymore. Muffy turned and squealed in excitement when she saw Francine, who was walking up the stairs. Francine was wearing a skirt, something Fern thought she would never see, and instead of the usual clips she used to wear in her hair, she had it curled at the end. _Has everyone changed in only one summer? _Fern thought to herself.

"Hey, Fern!" someone called out. Fern turned to see Arthur locking his bike up at the bike rack, alongside Buster who was chaining his bike to one of the poles. Fern smiled as she waved to Arthur and Buster. They looked about the same as when Fern left in the summer, the only difference was they looked more mature now and their 'fashion sense,' as Muffy would call it, had changed a bit.

Fern took a deep breath as she walked up the stairs of the new school and looked around. She looked to her right and saw Binky bullying another freshman into giving him his lunch money. He looked more mature and had a cooler look, with a leather jacket and sunglasses to complete the 'bad boy' look, but Fern could see he hadn't changed one bit. The scared kid quickly gave Binky the money before running off. _Well, I guess some things never change_, Fern thought to herself as she shook her head.

She looked down at her schedule for what felt like the hundredth time since she got it only a couple days ago and looked for the number of her homeroom class. _Three hundred fifteen, _she read, and then scanned the numbers on the doors that lined the hallway.

When she came to the room with the number she peeked in the window and found it empty, except for one student who was early: Brain. He was sitting in the front row, a pencil and paper already on his desk as he sat up straight in his seat and waited for class to start. Like the others, only his taste in clothes seemed to change. He was wearing a t-shirt and an undone, button-up shirt over it with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Fern smiled to herself. Ok, so maybe not _everything_ had changed; most of her friends from elementary still seemed the same. After all, it'd only been one summer, and how much can something-or someone-_really change in one summer?_


	2. The Story

Fern walked into the classroom and saw that each desk had a nametag on it. She walked to the second row and took the seat at the end with her name on it. Brain turned around and waved before turning back around. Fern put her backpack on the ground next to her and rested her chin in her hand as she watched the seconds hand tick by on the clock. At exactly one minute before eight everyone started filing in and the teacher arrived. He was carrying a briefcase like Mr. Ratburn did when Fern was in third grade. He set the suitcase on the desk before turning to face his class.

"Hello, class. My name is Henry Knowles and I'll be your English teacher for the year. Now that you know a little bit about me, I'd like each of you to stand up and give your name and age," he said before sitting down in his chair and picking up a clipboard. "Um, let's start with you," Mr. Knowles said, gesturing towards Buster.

"My name is Cat Saver!" Buster said with a smug expression on his face as the rest of the class erupted into a fit of giggles. Mr. Knowles let out a sigh.

"Of course I would pick the class clown to go first," he mumbled as he shook his head. After Mr. Knowles chastised Buster he finally got him to give him his real name and age, and the rest of the class followed suit.

Fern tuned them out as she focused on the plot of a new story she was writing. She knew most of their names and all their ages were the same, with the exception of Brain who was a year older than everyone at the age of fifteen. Half the class had gone when suddenly the door flew open and a student hurried in, papers flying everywhere.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, my bike tire popped on the way here!" Fern looked up and saw her old friend George trying to pick up all his papers as the class giggled. Fern remembered when they used to play Detective during recess when they were in the third grade.

"Since this is the first day of school I can excuse it, but don't let it happen again," Mr. Knowles said with a dismissive sweep of his hand. George picked up his last paper and ran over to the only available seat, the one right next to Fern. He put all his papers down and dropped his backpack to the floor before sitting down. When he turned and saw Fern sitting next to him he smiled.

"Oh, h-hey, Fern," he said nervously. Fern smiled.

"Hi, George," she said before turning back to the notebook she'd pulled out of her backpack only a few minutes earlier. The first day passed by uneventful, like the first day of school normally does. There was no homework, all they did all day was say their names and fill out papers in every class about themselves.

Fern decided to stop at the park before heading home since she didn't have any homework, so she sent her mom a quick text telling her before heading to the park near her house. Fern sat down on a park bench before taking out her notebook and working on her latest story, _Swept Away_.

**At Arthur's House… **

Arthur and Buster walked up to Arthur's room and flung their backpacks to the side as they sat down on Arthur's bed. Arthur got out his Checker's game and they began to play.

"So, what did you think of the first day?" Buster asked, and Arthur shrugged.

"It was Ok," Arthur said, acting like he couldn't care less, but that was the furthest thing from the truth. It was anything but boring, he couldn't get Fern out of his head! She looked so different, or at least, to Arthur she did. She still liked to wear jeans and t-shirts, but her hair had grown out longer and to Arthur, she looked…pretty, not that he'd ever admit it to Buster though.

"What did you think about the first day?" Arthur asked before Buster could ask any more questions.

"Well…" Buster started, looking nervous. That got Arthur's attention. Buster was _never_ nervous, he always said what was on his mind, whether people wanted to hear it or not.

"What is it?" Arthur prodded.

"You know how in third grade we thought girl's had cooties?" Buster asked, and Arthur nodded.

"Maybe we were wrong…" Buster said with a shrug.

"Yeah, maybe," Arthur said nonchalantly, but secretly he agreed with what Buster said. After Arthur won about five games of Checkers Buster started to get bored.

"Let's do something else, you always win at Checkers," Buster complained.

"Wanna go to the park?" Arthur suggested, putting the game away. Buster nodded and they both headed for the park.

**At The Park…**

Fern tapped her pencil against her chin, thinking. Her story had everything: a plot, a good mystery, and action…but somehow it was missing something. She just couldn't figure out what it was. She looked up from her notebook and saw George riding his bike in the park. George looked up at that second, and when he saw Fern looking back at him he raised his hand to wave at her. Fern started to wave back but then her eyes caught something George didn't see.

"Watch out!" she called out, but it was too late. George's bike slammed into a tree. _Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet, _Fern thought to herself as she set down her notebook and ran over to George. George was laying on the ground in a daze.

"Are you Ok?" Fern asked frantically, looking over him to make sure he was alright. George sat up and put a hand over his forehead.

"Uh, yeah. I think so," he said, shaking his head and trying to focus. Fern looked over at his bike and gasped.

"George, your bike is ruined!" she exclaimed. The front tire was bent to the right, and the handlebars were bent out of shape too. George groaned.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Fern offered. George nodded as he stood up and grabbed his bike from the ground next to him. Fern grabbed the other side of the bike and helped him walk it home, which was surprisingly difficult because of the bent tire. When they got to George's house George leaned the bike against the porch and Fern expected him to go inside, but he lingered outside with her.

"Do you want to come inside?" George finally asked, giving her a shy smile. Fern returned the smile and nodded before following him inside. Mrs. Lundgren was walking out into the hallway just as Fern and George were walking in.

"Oh, Fern, I haven't seen you in such a long time!" she exclaimed, remembering when Fern would come over occasionally and ask if George could come and play Detective with her.

"Yeah, it's been a long time," Fern said with a nod.

"I'm not trying to chase you away or anything," she said to Fern, then turned to George, "But George, you have dance class in half an hour."

"It's alright, I should be working on my st-" Fern started to say, but then stopped short. "Oh no! I left my story on the park bench!" Giving George a quick wave, she dashed out of his house and ran all the way back to the park. When she got back to the park she saw Arthur sitting on the bench…and he was reading her novel! Fern walked over to him.

"That's my story," she said quietly, and he looked up at her in amazement.

"This is _your_ story? It's really good!" he exclaimed, but he still hadn't handed her the notebook back yet.

"Yeah, but the thing is I don't like people reading my stories before I finish them," she emphasized, and Arthur finally got what she was saying.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know," he said, handing the notebook back. Fern smiled and slid it back into her backpack.

"Well I don't want anyone to know about my story before I finish it," Fern repeated, and Arthur nodded.

"It's alright, I won't tell anyone. I promise."

Fern smiled. "Thanks Arthur," she said with a sigh of relief. "Well, I should be getting home, I'll see you at school tomorrow." With a wave she said goodbye to Arthur and headed home. _I should keep better track of my stuff, I wouldn't want just anyone reading my story,_ Fern thought to herself as she walked home.

Truthfully, she wasn't even sure she wanted Arthur to know about it either, but she decided she could trust him. After all, when had he ever let her down?

**Back At The Park…**

Arthur stared after Fern as she walked away, smiling to himself. Suddenly Buster came up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Hey Arthur, what's up with you?" he asked in confusion. He'd been over at the swings when Fern came back, and after she left he'd noticed Arthur had a funny look on his face.

"Huh?" Arthur asked, and then shook his head. "Uh, nothing. I'm fine." Arthur cast one last look at Fern before turning back to his best friend.

"I'm perfectly fine."


	3. Something Missing

The next morning at school Fern sat at her desk, working on her story as the teacher wrote word problems down on the board. Fern didn't even notice when the teacher called on her to answer a word problem…or when he walked over to her when she didn't answer. She did, however, notice when he took the notebook from her hands.

"Fern, pay attention. We're in English class and I just asked you to solve the first problem on the board," Mr. Knowles announced as he walked over to his desk and put the notebook in one of the many drawers. "You can have this back at the end of the day."

Fern's cheeks turned red as all the eyes in the class turned to look at her. She glanced at the board and saw the first problem on the board was.

_The result of the election didn't give either candidate a clear majority but in the end the leader of the opposition agreed to step down and _ to the wishes of the electorate._

_(a) accept_

_(b) accent_

_(c) accede_

_(d) ascend_

"Um…accede?" she guessed quietly. The teacher nodded.

"Yes, that's correct. Let's try to pay attention from now on, shall we?" Mr. Knowles asked as he turned to find another student to call on. Fern nodded, embarrassed. She let out a sigh when he turned away.

"What was in that notebook?" George whispered to Fern when the teacher wasn't looking.

"It's a story I'm writing," she answered.

"What's it about?" he asked, curious.

"Well-" she started to tell him she didn't want to tell anyone what is was about before it was finished, when the teacher interrupted them.

"No talking," he said sternly. They were quiet for the rest of the class.

At the end of the day Fern rushed to Mr. Knowles room, eager to get her notebook back. When she walked into the deserted classroom she noticed her notebook lying on the top of the desk. _Why did he take it out of his desk? _Suddenly the door opened and Mr. Knowles walked in.

"Fern, there's something I want to talk to you about," he began as he sat down at his desk. "I hope you don't mind, but during lunch break I took a look at your notebook." Fern opened her mouth to tell him that she _did_ mind, but he held up a hand and silenced her.

"I must say, that in my fifteen years of being an English teacher I've never seen the amount of talent you seem to have for writing. I would even dare to say that you're better than some professional writers out there. I read as much of the story as you have written, and I loved it!"

Fern was speechless. "Oh…well, thank you." Right now she didn't even care that she didn't want anyone to see her work until it was finished. Her _English teacher_ has just told her she was better than some professional writers, so it must be true!

"May I make one suggestion though?" he asked, breaking through her thoughts. Fern nodded and Mr. Knowles continued.

"The story was lacking a little bit of romance. Add some and it would be perfect. And maybe describe how the characters look, it would give the reader a clear image of who they're reading about," he said, finally picked up her notebook and giving it back to her. As she looked down at the notebook she thought about how she had been thinking it had been lacking something just yesterday. Was romance the answer? Fern thought about how the girl ended up stranded on the island with a mysterious boy and no way of knowing who he truly was. Yes, romance was the missing ingredient! That was it!

"Thanks Mr. Knowles!" she exclaimed, hugging the notebook close to her. She knew what was missing, now all she had to do was write it into the story.

"No problem," he said with a shrug. Fern turned around to leave, but Mr. Knowles voice called her back.

"And Fern?" she turned and gave him a questioning look. "When you finish I'd like to read it. I have a friend who works at a publishing house. I can talk to him and see if he might be interested in publishing your work, would that be alright with you?"

Fern could only nod before walking out of the classroom. Everything seemed to be falling in place. For years she'd dreamed of being published just like her favorite author Persimmony Glitchet, and now it was finally happening! Well, it would happen as soon as she finished her story, that is…

As soon as Fern got home she immediately got to work. She sat down at her desk with a reading lamp, sharpened her pencil, and tightened the red bow in her hair. Time to get to work…

Fern tapped the eraser of the pencil against her chin. How did she want her main character, Kinsley, to look? The story goes that Kinsley was going on a cruise to meet her parents in Jamaica after she finished her first year at college. While aboard, a freak storm popped up and overturned the boat, sending Kinsley into the unforgiving waves. She found an overturned lifeboat and sought shelter from the harsh storm. After three days with only the currents to carry her away, she washed up on a beach where she met a strange and mysterious boy. He wouldn't tell her anything about himself, or how he came to the deserted island, so Kinsley has to find out his secrets while also trying to figure out a way to get them both rescued.

Fern let her pencil drop to the desk with a small clatter. How was she supposed to know what Kinsley looked like? Sure, she always imagined her with soft features-maybe like a cat-and light hair, maybe a blonde, but that didn't mean she knew what...suddenly inspiration hit Fern. She snatched up her pencil from the desk and started writing as fast as she could…

When Fern finished she smiled at her work. She had a clear picture of Kinsley in her mind, and now she had her described in the story too. Now all she had to do was describe Winston, the mysterious boy from the island. But she had no idea what he looked like either. She figured he should be someone that she would feel attracted too, but she came up blank again.

She put her pencil down. Maybe if she went for a walk something would come to her. She told her mom she was going to the park before grabbing her jacket off the coat rack and setting out. When she got to the park she saw Arthur and Buster sitting on the swings, talking. Fern walked over to the park bench and watched a squirrel scurry up the tree with a nut in its mouth. Fern smiled to herself before glancing over at the swings to see Buster running over to her.

"Hey, Fern!" Buster called out, with Arthur tagging along close behind him. Buster sat down next to Fern.

"So, is he an alien?" he asked as Arthur walked up to them. Fern gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, annoyed. She always hated how Buster would ask a random question and expect the person to know exactly what he was talking about. Fern looked up at Arthur for some clue of what was going on, but he was looking at Buster with an alarmed look on his face.

"Buster, I think we should be going. Uh, that one movie starts in ten minutes…" he said anxiously. Buster raised an eyebrow.

"What movie? Besides, I wanna see if my guess is right!" Buster exclaimed, turning back to Fern.

"What are you talking about?" Fern asked.

"That guy from your story, is he an alien?" Buster asked, and Fern's eyes widened. She turned to Arthur with a scowl.

"You told him about my story?" she asked angrily, jumping to her feet. Arthur took a step back.

"I'm sorry, it just slipped out and-" he started to explain, but Fern cut him off by walking away. She couldn't believe he would tell someone after he promised he wouldn't! Fern wrapped her arms around herself and glanced back to see Arthur standing there with his head hanging, while Buster just sat there awkwardly. She turned back around and stormed home. She would never trust him again!

**Back At The Park…**

Arthur let out a sigh as he sat down on the bench. Buster could tell he was upset, and he could tell now was not really the time to say something witty and funny, but he still couldn't resist the urge.

"So…what else happens in the story?"

Arthur looked up at him with a cold look. "I told you not to tell anyone about the story!"

"I didn't think you meant Fern!" Buster said, raising his hands in defense. Arthur stood up with a frustrated grunt and walked away, leaving behind a very confused Buster. He sat there for a few minutes, trying to figure out why Arthur was so mad. He'd let things slip before, and Arthur had never reacted like this before. Suddenly Buster spotted Brain walking down the park path.

"Hey, Brain!" he called out, and he turned and walked over to Buster. Buster knew that Brain was an expert at figuring out why people acted weird. He called himself a 'master of psychology', whatever that was…

"Yes?" Brain asked, sitting down on the bench next to Buster.

"Arthur was acting weird earlier…" Buster began, and he could tell that sparked Brain's interest.

"Weird, how?"

"Well, Arthur told me about a story Fern wrote, and I asked her about it, but she didn't want anyone to know about it, so she got mad at Arthur. Then Arthur got mad at me, and he stormed off. He's never reacted like this before over something so small," Buster explained with a shrug. Brain nodded as he looked off into the distance before turning back to Buster.

"Well he probably likes Fern," Brain said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Buster raised an eyebrow. Arthur liking girls? No way!

"_Like_ like?" Buster asked, and Brain nodded. Buster was stumped for a minute as he stared at the ground, just thinking. Finally he turned back to Brain and asked,

"Why?"

"Well, Arthur is going through puberty, like all guys do." When Brain saw a blank look on Buster's face he went on. "Puberty is when your pituitary gland releases special hormones that cause boys and girls to change and makes they attracted to those of the opposite sex."

"What?" Buster asked, not explaining a word Brain was saying.

"It's what makes boys like girls, and it's happening to Arthur. Don't worry though, its normal." Arthur liking girls? That didn't seem _normal_ to Buster!

"I think he's been abducted by aliens and been brainwashed into liking girls!" Buster declared. It made more sense than what Brain had said. Brain rolled his eyes.

"Buster, for the last time, aliens aren't real!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"That's what _they _want you to think!" Buster said, standing up. "I have to save Arthur from the alien's mind control devices before it's too late!" Buster ran off towards Arthur's house without giving Brain a chance to respond. He just shook his head before getting up and heading home.


	4. Flowers and Origami

Arthur sulked home, thinking about how he could make it up to Fern. He had just walked through the door and was headed up to his room, when he ran into D.W., who was walking down the stairs.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" she asked, seeing the sad expression on his face.

"Nothing, just leave me alone," he said, moving past her and walking up the stairs to his room. He closed his door and sat down on his bed with a sigh. A couple minutes later a knock came from his door.

"Who is it?" Arthur asked. His mom poked her head in.

"Can I come in?" she asked with a small smile. Arthur nodded and moved over to make room for her on the bed.

"D.W. told me you were upset. Do you want to talk about anything?" she asked, sitting down next to Arthur. He looked up and saw the sympathetic expression on her face.

"Well, there's this girl, and I think I like her…but she's mad at me right now, and I don't know what to do," Arthur explained.

"Why is she mad at you?"

After Arthur finished explaining his mom had a thoughtful look on her face. "Well, I'd apologize then give her some time to cool down. Fern doesn't seem like the kind of girl to stay mad at someone for too long." Arthur nodded before giving his mom a hug.

"I hope so. Thanks, mom." His mom smiled and nodded before hugging him back and then standing up and walking out.

**At Fern's House…**

Fern was listening to Adele as she sat at her desk, trying to come up with an idea for Winston. She suddenly got a burst of inspiration. She decided he would have rough features, like a moose. With tanned skin and dark brown hair, he would be just the kind of boy Fern would like. She quickly jotted down his description and a moment later, looked over her work with a smile. Ok, so she had one thing Mr. Knowles suggested; next on the agenda was romance. Fern put her notebook down and bit on the end of her eraser. But she knew nothing about romance; how could she write about something she'd never experienced before?

Fern looked at the clock on her wall before setting her pencil down. It was almost dinner time, she could work on the story later.

**The Next Day…**

Fern sat at her desk, talking to George while the other students piled in and waited for the first class of the day to start.

"So then Mrs. Molina paired me with Danielle, and it was a total disaster…" George went on talking about something funny that happened in dance class yesterday while Fern sat there, listening. She knew that back in third grade he had signed up for a dance class and ended up entered a dance competition with Francine. She heard they won second place, but he must have continued with dance lessons, because she heard he won three Fred and Ginger awards in a row in the past three years. He must have become a really good dancer; a far cry from the awkward boy she used to square dance with back in third grade whenever it rained during recess.

George was in the middle of his story when he suddenly stopped and looked up. Fern noticed and looked up to see a boy named Austin standing in front of her desk. He had moved to Elwood City a month before school started, or so she heard. She hadn't met him yet, only heard about him and seen him walking around the school.

"Hi. You're Fern, right?" Austin asked, and Fern nodded. He pulled a flower from behind his back and held it out to Fern.

"I got this for you," he said before running back to his desk across the room. Fern looked at George who had a slightly irritated look on his face. _Probably from being interrupted,_ Fern reasoned. She looked down at the small pink flower in her hand before putting it back on her desk and turning back to George.

"You were saying…?" she prodded. George smiled before continuing with his story.

Later that day, as Fern was grabbing a lunch tray in the cafeteria, Arthur ran up to Fern as she grabbed an apple.

"Fern?"

"What Arthur?" she asked, still angry at him.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I really didn't mean to let it slip to Buster," he said and Fern could hear the sincerity in his voice. She let out a sigh as she turned to face him.

"It's alright. Just don't tell anyone else," she said, moving down the line and grabbing a plate of lasagna. She could never hold a grudge for too long. She looked at Arthur to see him beaming at her.

"Don't worry, I won't," he said with a smile before going back to grab a tray. When Fern had her lunch she looked around for a place to sit, and she saw that George was sitting at a table with Brain, Sue Ellen and Binky. She headed over there and sat down next to Sue Ellen, across from Binky and George. As soon as she turned to talk to Sue Ellen she heard someone sit down next to her. She turned to see a shy lamb she'd known since preschool. They'd always been in the same classes, and she'd always wave to him in the hallways, but they'd never really talked before.

"Hello, Fern," he said, looking down at his lunch.

"Hey, Eric," she greeted him. She was about to turn back to her friends when Eric pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to Fern. At first it looked like an oddly shaped piece of paper, but when she took it from his hand and inspected it closely she saw it was an origami heart with wings.

"Thank you," Fern said, embarrassed. Why were all the boys suddenly interested in her?

When Fern got home later that day she went to her room and looked at herself in her full-length mirror hanging on her wall. She was lean, one might even go as far to say she was scrawny. She had stormy blue eyes and brown hair with a red bow pulling her hair back at the top. She didn't look any different than when she was in elementary school, except that she'd grown taller. She was no different in her own eyes, so why were boys suddenly interested in her? She hadn't changed one bit. She was no prettier than before, not even close. She'd always been plain by her own standards, just like how a mouse was supposed to look. She was never pretty like the other girls and it had never bothered her, but suddenly she wished she could be pretty like them. Why did the guys like her if she wasn't pretty? Maybe if she was pretty it wouldn't feel so weird for them to like her…

Fern twisted a lock of her hair around her finger. _It's the same dull color as it was back in elementary school_, Fern thought glumly to herself. _It's what Muffy would describe as a 'mousy brown'. _She wished she had a prettier color, like Muffy's hair. Fern jumped in surprise when she heard a knocking sound on her door, and a moment later her mom appeared in the doorway.

"Ferny, I was thinking about ordering pizza tonight, what kind do you want?" she asked.

"Pepperoni, please," she said politely. Her mom was about to close her door when Fern called her back.

"Mom?" Her mom turned back to face her. "Can I dye my hair?"

Her mom gave her a puzzled look. "Why do you want to dye your hair?"

"I…I just want to try out a new color," Fern lied. She knew if she told her mom the real reason she'd try everything to convince her daughter her hair was beautiful the way it was.

"Well, I think you're a little too young for that right now, Fern. Maybe when you're older…" she said before closing the door behind her. Fern turned back to the mirror with a frown and let out a sigh. She just wanted to be pretty like all the other girls.

**The Next Day…**

Fern walked into the local drugstore after school the next day. She wanted to get a soda and a loaf of bread before heading to the park to feed the ducks. She started to walk to the back where the drinks were when an aisle with hair products caught her eye. She walked over to the shelf and saw an array of different hair dyes, all promising a different color. Fern looked at all the different colors before her eyes landed on one that she would've liked for her hair. She took it off the shelf and looked at the model on the front. Her hair was a vibrant brown color with a slight reddish tint to it. It was the perfect color…if only her mom would let her use it. She put it back on the shelf with a sigh.

"Are you thinking about dying your hair?" a voice asked from behind Fern, startling her. She spun around to see Muffy standing there with a bottle of shampoo and conditioner in her hands.

"Um, well, I _want_ to but…" Fern trailed off, not wanting to explain to Muffy.

"You don't know how?" Muffy assumed. "Well if that's the only problem I can do it for you." Fern looked at Muffy with a skeptical look on her face.

"Really?"

"Yeah, all you have to do is follow the directions. How hard can it be?" Muffy said with a shrug. "If you decide you want to buy it just come over to my house and I can do it for you." With a turn of her heel Muffy walked off down the aisle and turned out of sight. Fern knew she couldn't afford bread, soda, and the hair dye. It was the bread and soda or the hair dye. But which one should she choose?

* * *

Fern stood in front of Muffy's house half an hour later, the box of hair dye clutched tightly in her hands. She walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A moment later Muffy appeared, and when she saw Fern standing there she let out a squeal of delight.

"Oh, I just _knew_ you'd come!" she exclaimed, grabbing Fern's hand and pulling her inside. "I already have a spot in my room ready."

When they reached Muffy's room Fern saw that she had a chair set in the middle of the room with a towel hanging on one of the arms. She led Fern to the chair and she sat down while Muffy took the stuff out of the box.

She mixed up the liquids before reading the instructions and putting on the gloves. She squirted the brown liquid on Fern's head and combed it all through her hair.

"Ok, now that's done…" she said, picking up the instructions and looking at them. "Ok, now it says to leave it in for two hours before washing it out."

"_Two hours_?" Fern asked, shocked. Muffy nodded before tossing the paper back onto her bed and putting a plastic cap of Fern's head.

"Yep. Nothing to do now but wait!" Muffy declared, hoping on her bed and turning on the bed.

"Ooooh! Wizards Of Waverly Place is on! Do you wanna watch that?" Muffy asked excitedly, not giving Fern a chance to disagree before clicking on it. Fern rested her chin in her hand with a sigh. This was going to be a very long two hours…

**Two Hours Later…**

"Ahhh, isn't Harry _so _cute?" Muffy gushed, staring at the computer screen with a dreamy look on her face. Fern just rolled her eyes as she suppressed a laugh. Somehow they'd gone from watching Disney Channel to watching One Direction music videos on YouTube. It was a strange transition. Muffy glanced at the clock before turning to Fern with a smile on her face.

"Ok, it's time to take the hair dye out and see your new hair!" she said, leading Fern to the giant bathroom right next to her room. She made Fern lean back in a chair over the sink and then took the cap off. Muffy let out a small gasp and mumbled something Fern didn't catch.

"What did you say?" Fern asked, waiting for Muffy to wash the dye out.

"Uh, nothing. The hair dye just looks weird, but I'm sure it'll look different once I rinse it out…" she said innocently before turning the water on. After a few minutes Muffy was still scrubbing Fern's hair.

"Is it out yet? How does my hair look?" Fern asked anxiously.

"Um…well…it may not look_ exactly_ like you wanted it too…" Muffy said, trailing off. Fern raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked. She heard Muffy turn the water off before grabbing a towel and drying her hair.

"Muffy?" Fern questioned again, but Muffy remained silent. Fern jumped out of the chair, her hair still dripping and ran over to the nearest mirror. When she saw her hair she almost fainted.

* * *

**Cliff hanger! Any guesses on what happened to Fern's hair? =)**


	5. Hair Dye Disaster

Fern stared at her _purple_ hair in the mirror. It wasn't a dark purple, or even a pretty shade of purple, but a _bright, neon_ purple. Her mouth fell open and she stood there speechless, just staring at her reflection in horror. What would her mom say? She was _so_ dead when she got home!

"Muffy, what did you do to my hair?" she exclaimed, turning to Muffy with a look that could bore a hole through the wall.

"I didn't do anything. I followed the instructions perfectly. It must be a faulty hair dye. Maybe you can sue the company and buy yourself a wig with the money," Muffy said with a shrug. Fern ran out of the bathroom and picked up the box from the bed. Her eyes scanned the directions on the side and she tossed the box down on the bed before turning to Muffy with a glare.

"The directions said to leave it in for 20 minutes, not two hours!" Fern exclaimed. Muffy walked over to her bed and picked up the instructions, her cheeks turning a red shade of embarrassment as she realized her mistake.

"Oops."

"What am I going to do? My mom will freak out when she sees my hair!" Fern wailed. Why did she even do this in the first place? Fern sank to the floor and covered her face with her hands. A minute later a finger tapped her shoulder. Fern looked up to see Muffy holding out a dark blue hoodie.

"If you wear this with the hood up nobody will see your hair," Muffy said optimistically. Fern wasn't so sure about the idea, but since she didn't have a better one she took the hoodie and slipped it on, grabbing the hood and yanking it up to cover her head. She yanked on the strings and turned to look at herself in the mirror. It was hard to see her face, but at least she couldn't see her hair.

"I can't wear this forever though!" Fern protested, turning back to Muffy.

"I know, but in four weeks we can re-dye your hair back to its natural color. No one will even know that your hair was purple," Muffy said with a smug smile, confident with her own plan.

"Alright," Fern agreed, but only because she was too shocked to come up with a better plan.

As Fern walked home she glanced around at the people she passed by, suspicious that someone might see her hair, even though she kept a tight grip on the strings until she reached her house. When she was home she let out a sigh of relief, and then took a deep breath. Now all she had to do was get past her mom and...suddenly the front door opened and Fern jumped back with a yelp, surprised. Her mom looked surprised too, but smiled when she saw her daughter standing there.

"I was wondering when you were coming home," she said with a smile, opening the door for Fern. "I was just about to go to the park to get you since you left your phone in your room." Her mom eyed her blue hoodie as she walked through the door.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, curious.

"Muffy let me borrow it since it was cold out," Fern lied, and her mom raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you went to the park…" her mom said, suspicious.

"Uh, I did," Fern said quickly, trying to come up with an excuse. "Muffy was there too and she let me borrow her hoodie since she wasn't cold."

"Oh. Well make sure to return it to her tomorrow," she mom said with a shrug before walking into the kitchen. Fern let out a sigh of relief before walking up to her room. She was safe…for now, that is.

**At Arthur's House…**

Brain sat on the floor doing his math homework while Arthur sat at his desk, tapping his pencil against his chin, staring at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Suddenly D.W.'s head popped in the doorway.

"Hey, _Brain_," she said with a smile. Arthur rolled his eyes. Ever since D.W. turned eleven a few months ago she'd become more interested in boys, especially Brain. Actually, it was only Brain she took notice of, although one of the Tibble Twins and Molly's younger brother, James, seemed interested in her.

"Hello, D.W.," Brain said with a polite smile.

"D.W., how many times do I have to tell you? Stop bothering us!" Arthur said, irritated. D.W. frowned and flipped her hair as she looked away and crossed her arms.

"But I need help with my homework," D.W. said innocently. _Yeah, right_, Arthur thought, _she just wants Brain to come and help her._

"Well we're busy right now," Arthur said dismissively. "Don't make me go and get mom."

"It's alright. I can help her, I've already finished my homework," Brain said, putting his papers in his backpack. D.W. smiled as she sent Arthur a triumphant look.

"Brain, you're _so_ smart," she said, batting her big blue eyes at him. Brain didn't seem to notice as he walked to the door.

"So, what homework do you need help with?" he asked as they walked out of Arthur's room.

"My English homework. We're reading a book called Shiloh. It's about a beagle and this boy named Marty…" D.W.'s voice drifted down the hall as she told Brain about the book her class was reading, while Arthur tried to concentrate on his Algebra homework. _Wow, and I thought Mr. Ratburn's math class was hard! _Arthur thought to himself as he stared at the problems. At least he didn't have to do as many math problems as when he was in his class…

**20 Minutes Later…**

Arthur finally put his pencil down and let out a sigh of relief. He was _finally_ done with his homework! Arthur put his papers away before walking to his window and looked outside to see D.W. and Brain playing chess in the backyard. D.W. picked up a piece and moved it.

8"Checkmate!" she declared. Brain's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wha-how did you do that…?" he asked, looking over the pieces to make sure. Suddenly a knock on his door made Arthur turn around to see his mom standing there.

"You finished with your homework?" she asked, and Arthur nodded.

"So, how are things going at school? Did you get things straightened out with Fern?" she asked as she walked over to Arthur's bed and sat down.

"Yeah, I think so…but…" Arthur started, but then shook his head, not knowing how to explain to his mom what he was feeling.

"But, what?" she prodded.

"Well, she's not mad anymore, but I want to do something for her. I want to get her attention, make her notice me somehow…" Arthur sighed and rested his chin in his hands. "but I don't know what to do…"

"Well, what kinds of things does Fern like?" his mom asked.

"She likes mysteries and telling stories, and she likes to write poetry too," Arthur listed.

"Well, maybe you should write her a poem, that way it would be something she'd like and you'd get her attention," she suggested with a smile. Arthur sat up and smiled.

"That's a great idea!" he exclaimed, then gave his mom a hug. "Thanks, mom!"

"No problem," she replied. "Well, I'd better go fix dinner." She stood up and walked out of the room while Arthur rushed over to his desk, pulling out a piece of paper and picking up his pencil. He bit down on his lip, trying to think of what to say. This poem was for Fern, so it had to be _perfect_.

**At Fern's House…**

"Fern, dinner is ready!" Fern's mom called from downstairs. Fern was busy writing her story when her mom called her. With a sigh she pulled the hood over her hair and walked downstairs. When she got there she found her mom and dad already sitting at the table, waiting for her. When she sat down her father grabbed the big bowl of mashed potatoes in the middle and scooped some onto his plate.

"Fern, you shouldn't have your hood on at the dinner table," Fern's father said. Fern started to sweat. She couldn't take off her hood, then they would see her hair!

"Why?" she asked, trying to get out of it.

"Because it's like wearing a hat at the dinner table, it's considered rude," her mother explained, passing around the peas.

"But…but it's so cold in here!" Fern explained, looking for any excuse to keep her hood on.

"Well I can turn the heat up," her father said, getting up from the table the turning the thermostat up. Fern started to panic as her father sat down at the table and looked at her expectantly. She didn't have any reason to keep it on now! _What am I gonna do?_ Fern thought frantically.

Slowly, she reached for her hoodie, and taking a deep breath, she pulled it down. When her mother saw her purple hair her eyes widened to the size of baseballs and she gasped in shock.

"What in the world did you do to your hair?" she yelled, standing up and running around the table to Fern. Fern bit down on her lip nervously as her mom touched her hair, making sure it wasn't a wig.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady!" her mom scolded.

"Well, I wanted to dye my hair, but you wouldn't let me, so when I went to the store today Muffy saw me looking at a box of hair dye, and she offered to do it for me…but then she left it in for to long and…" Fern gestured to her hair as her mom let out a frustrated sigh as she rubbed her temples.

"Fern, you are in big trouble when we get back home," she mumbled as turned to her husband.

"We're going to the Hair Salon to get her hair fixed before it closes. I'll be back soon," she said as she grabbed Fern's hand and dragged her to the door. All the way there the car was filled with an awkward silence as Fern's mom stared straight ahead with an angry expression on her face. As they pulled into a parking space at the Hair Salon Fern finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry mom, I just hated how my hair looked," she said, looking down at her hands as she said it.

"You did?" her mom asked, looking at her in surprise. Fern nodded sadly.

"Why?"

"Because…it…it was a mousy brown, and I wanted my hair to look pretty like all the other girls at my school," Fern admitted, looking back up at her mom. Her mom let out a sigh.

"Fern, your hair was pretty the way it was before, and I'm sure if you asked anyone they would agree with you," she said before opening her door. "Now let's go get your hair fixed.

Fern got out of the car and followed her mom into the Salon. As soon as they walked in Sally turned and smiled at Fern's mom. They'd been friends since high school and since Sally owned the shop they could always come in anytime they wanted and get a haircut for half the price.

"Hey, Doria," she called out with a wave as she set down her scissors and walked up to the counter.

"I'll be right back," she told the customer in the chair. When she saw Fern standing next to her mother her eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened to her hair?" she exclaimed as everyone's eyes in the salon turned to look at Fern. She could ever hear a few kids' snicker behind her.

"In-home hair dye gone wrong," her mom explained with a frown. "She bought one of those do-it-yourself hair dyes from the store earlier today, but her friend left it in too long, and this," she gestured towards Fern, "was the result. Can you fix it?"

"You said she did it today?" Sally asked with a glance at Fern, and her mom nodded.

"Yeah, earlier this afternoon."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do right now without risking damaging her hair. Normally, you're supposed to wait four to six week between colorings, but if you bring her back in three days I could give her hair a temporary dye that wouldn't damage her hair. As of right now I can't do anything. Sorry," Sally explained with a shrug and a sympathetic look. Fern's mom let out a sigh as she nodded.

"Ok, thanks Sally. I'll just make an appointment right now." As Fern's mom and Sally set the date and time Fern looked around the Hair Salon at all the different products. She really hoped they didn't have her old hair color in hair dye form. Maybe they would have to use some other color, which would be fine with Fern. Either way, she never wanted to go back to the color she had before.

* * *

**Since I like to imagine my characters as humans, I've compiled this list of people that I think the Arthur characters look like. They're all Disney cartoons, since Arthur is a cartoon and since I'm most familiar with Disney cartoons.**

**Fern** - A younger version of Jane from _Tarzan_

**Arthur** - A younger version of Milo from _Atlantis_

**George** - This was a hard one, but I'd have to say either a younger version Kenai from _Brother Bear_, or a younger version of Aladdin from _Aladdin_

**Brain** - A younger version of Prince Naveen from _The Princess And The Frog_

**D.W.** - Jane from _Peter Pan 2_

**Muffy** - A younger version of Anastasia from _Anastasia _(I know it's not Disney, but it's a cartoon so I'm counting it. And honestly, they look like each other perfectly, and both have the same feisty attitude.)

**I didn't bother to do the other characters cause there's so many, so I leave them to your imagination, and hope you liked the list I've compiled. =)**


	6. Poem From A 'Secret Admirer'

Fern pulled a beret from her closet and pulled all her hair up in a bun before putting in on her head. Once she had it secured she poked any stray hairs up into the hat and smiled at herself in the mirror when she was done. Not a single strand of purple hair could be seen, and Fern was going to keep it that way. She took one last look at herself before grabbing her backpack from her bed and running out the door to where her mom was waiting in the car.

All the way to school Fern worried if Muffy had told anyone what happened. If anyone found out, or saw, her purple hair she'd be the laughing stock of Elwood City! When Fern's mom finally pulled up to the school parking lot Fern saw Muffy stepping out of her limo, behind Fern's car. She grabbed her backpack and jumped out of the car, running over to Muffy.

"Hey, that was a smart idea, wearing a hat. Now no one will be able to see your hair!" Muffy exclaimed when she saw Fern. Fern's eyes widened as she put her hand over Muffy's mouth.

"Shhh! Don't be too loud or someone will hear you!" she whispered, and then when she saw the coast was clear she moved her hand away. "I only have to wear it for three days, then my mom is going to take me to the Salon so they can fix my hair, so don't tell anyone about this."

"They can fix your hair?" Muffy asked.

"Yeah, they said they would use something temporary so it wouldn't damage my hair," Fern explained. Muffy looked away in thought.

"Why didn't I think of that?" she muttered to herself. Suddenly the bell rung, signaling the start of homeroom class.

"We're late!" Fern exclaimed, as both of them took off for the school entrance. They rushed to their classroom and got there just as Mr. Knowles was taking attendance.

"Fern, Muffy, you're late," he said, not once looking up from taking attendance.

"We kinda lost track of time," Fern admitted, looking down at the floor.

"Well don't let it happen again. Go take your seats," he said. Fern and Muffy smiled at each other before taking their seats.

"George?" Mr. Knowles called out.

"Here."

"Fern, you're here," he mumbled to himself, marking her down, and then he looked up for the first time. "Fern, take your hat off. You're not allowed to wear them in school." Oh no, she couldn't let anyone else see her hair! She bit down on her lip, trying desperately to think of an excuse.

"But I didn't have a chance to brush my hair this morning, and it looks terrible." It wasn't a _complete_ lie, her hair _did_ look terrible.

"I'm sure it looks just fine," Mr. Knowles said, growing impatient.

"Please, just let me wear it for the next couple of days and I'll never wear it to school again!" Fern pleaded, resorting to begging.

"Fern, take it off," Mr. Knowles said sternly. Fern's eyes filled with tears of frustration. She knew what would happen if she took her hat off and they saw her hair. She could already picture it in her head...

_Fern reached up and pulled her hat off, causing her purple hair to cascade down. Fern looked around to see shocked faces, and then they all suddenly started laughing. Most of them pointed fingers as they laughed, even the teacher._

"_Haha! You look like a turnip!" Buster laughed._

"_Wow, and I thought _my_ hair looked terrible today!" Francine exclaimed as she collapsed onto her desk in a fit of giggles._

"_I can't believe I ever liked her!" the boy who gave Fern a flower laughed. Mr. Knowles finally gained control of himself and walked over to Fern, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the classroom. "I'm sorry, but we don't allow purple-haired freaks in the classroom. You're being sent home!" he said, and then walked back into the classroom laughing..._

Fern messed around with the hem of her shirt as she looked around at the faces of her classmates.

"Well?" Mr. Knowles prodded. Fern looked at him and could tell from the look on his face that if she didn't take her hat off soon, he would do it for her. Fern took a deep breath before reached up and pulling her hat off. Her hair fell down out in loose strands that had escaped from the messy bun she'd put it in. Fern squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the laughs that she was sure would come from her classmates, but she was surprised when she heard a few gasps, followed by a flurry of noise.

"Your hair looks so cool!" "Wow, I wish I could have purple hair!" "I can't believe your mom let you do that, I wish my mom was that cool!"

Fern's eyes shot open and she looked around, surprised. They _liked_ her hair? She was stumped when she saw the approving looks on each of their faces. Her eyes moved to Arthur and saw a smile on his face as he looked at her new hair with a fascinated expression. She turned and looked at George and saw that he too, had a smile on his face.

"I liked your old hair better, but your new hair looks cool too," he said with a shy smile. Fern was confused. Why did they all like her hair? It was purple! Then, it suddenly clicked!

"I look like a grape!" Fern said glumly, not believing any of them. She realized they were making fun of her by acting like they liked her hair!

"I know you all hate my hair, so just go ahead and say it!" Fern exclaimed, standing up and turning to face all of them.

"Fern, we don't hate your hair, we like it," Francine said, giving her a confused look. Fern just turned away from them all. Well if they were going to lie about it then she didn't need any of them!

Mr. Knowles cleared his throat. "Hate to rain on everybody's parade here, but unfortunately, having unnatural or wild colored hair is against school rules. I'm going to have to send you to the principal's office, Fern." With her head held high Fern picked up her hat and backpack and walked out of the classroom.

**The Next Day…**

Fern stood outside the school building the next morning. After her mom had a very long chat with the principle about why Fern couldn't change her hair back to a natural color for three more days, they finally decided that Fern would be allowed to attend school for only three more days; after that she'd have to have her hair color changed to be allowed back in school. It had taken all day for her mom and the principle to talk and decide on it, so Fern had missed all her classes. She wasn't looking forward to today. Not only would she have to catch up on all the work she knew she'd missed, but she'd have to face her classmates.

Fern walked up to her locker and spun the combination. She was surprised when she opened her locker and a piece of paper fluttered to the ground. She raised an eyebrow as she picked it up and unfolded it. Fern was surprised when she read what was inside.

"_I just wish you could see how pretty you really are_

_Whenever you're around everything else passes in a blur_

_It seems like you're the only one who thinks you're not pretty_

_I think you're beautiful but you refuse to believe it, it's a pity_

_Believe you're beautiful, and like Journey says, Don't stop believing_

_No matter what anyone else says, don't let them be deceiving_

_No matter what your hair color is: brown or purple_

_You are cute, just like a small animal, like a gerbil._

_From,_

_Your Secret Admirer"_

The poem almost brought tears to Fern's eyes. Someone thought she was beautiful? Who could have written it? She looked around, as if the mystery man might be lurking somewhere nearby. When she saw the hallway was deserted she read over the note again, and then held it to her chest as she smiled to herself. She may not believe the person, not fully, but it still made her feel a little bit better about herself.

She slipped the poem into the front pocket of her backpack before walking to her homeroom class. For the rest of the day all she could think about was the mystery writer. Who did she know that could write a poem? She remembered when they were all in third grade and she dared them to write a poem. They all wrote one, and they were all pretty good. She realized that it could have been any one of them.

The school day finally ended and Fern walked home with the poem in her hand, thinking hard about how she could figure out who wrote the poem. She was a detective after all, it couldn't be that hard to figure it out. She'd found Francine's missing bracelet in third grade and helped Buster crack the case of who was going around school and spray painting Binky's name all over the walls, so this should be a cinch.

Fern knew she must have been thinking hard, because next thing she knew she was on the ground. She rubbed her head before looking up to see Arthur's little sister, D.W., on the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention or looking where I was going," Fern quickly apologized as she stood up and offered her hand to D.W., but she didn't seem to hear Fern. D.W. picked up the piece of paper that fell out of Fern's hand when they collided and scanned the note, seeing that it was a love poem.

"Um, that's mine," Fern said awkwardly, holding out her hand for the paper. D.W. gave her a knowing smile as she handed it back.

"You got this at school, didn't you?" she asked with a grin, and Fern nodded. What was she getting at?

"I know who your 'secret admirer' is," D.W. declared in a sing-song voice.

"Really? How? Who is it?" Fern asked excitedly.

"Oh, a certain relative of mine whose name begins with an A," she said with a dismissive voice, but the smile on her face gave her away.

"How do you know?" Fern asked skeptically.

"A couple days ago I heard Arthur and mom talking from his room when I was in the backyard. I heard mom giving Arthur advice to write you a poem to get your attention, then I heard Arthur say that it was a great idea. It's not that hard to guess what happened next," D.W. explained with a sly smile. "But just remember, you didn't hear it from me!" With a smug smile D.W. walked around Fern and headed down the street. Fern guessed she was going to the park.

Fern looked down at the paper and smiled. She couldn't believe Arthur had done something so incredibly sweet and nice. But she wouldn't let him know that _she _knew it was him until he was ready to tell her. Until then, well, she knew she wouldn't be able to look at Arthur the same way at school again.


	7. Alien Theories

When Fern got home she decided to put the poem aside and work on her story. She wanted to finish it before Christmas. Fern sat down at her desk and put the note on top of her _Sherlock Holmes_ book and pulled out the notebook from under it. She flipped to the page where she left off and began to write about her character Winston. She gave him rough features, but when she imagined him she imagined a boy with a quiet demeanor and gentle spirit. Fern got a sudden burst of inspiration from this and began writing as fast as her hands could move.

**At The Park…**

D.W. walked along the path to the park. From her widow facing the sidewalk she'd seen Brain pass by their house, headed for the park earlier. As she skipped along she thought about Arthur liking Fern. It seemed strange to her; she always imagined her brother having a crush on someone like Francine or Sue Ellen. Really, anyone but Fern. D.W. turned the corner to the park and saw Brain sitting down on a park bench, reading a book on Biology. She smiled to herself before straightening up and walking over to Brain.

"Hello, Brain," she said with a big smile. He looked up and nodded.

"Hey, D.W.," he greeted her. "What brought you to the park?"

"Oh…uh, I just wanted to go for a walk," she lied. "What are you reading about?"

"Genetic engineering," he said, "Do you know what that is?"

D.W. didn't have a clue what that meant, but she didn't want Brain to think she was dumb, so she answered, "Yeah."

Brain gave her an impressed look. He opened his mouth to speak, but someone interrupted him.

"D.W.! Do you know where Arthur is?" Buster asked, walking up to D.W.

"I don't know. Probably at home writing another poem for Fern," she said with a shrug.

Buster gave her a confused look. "Why would he write Fern a poem? Is he entering another poetry contest?"

"No, he likes her you dummy, so he's writing her love poems," she snapped. She wished Buster would just leave so she could talk to Brain.

"Oh no, it's worse than I thought!" he exclaimed before running off. D.W. just rolled her eyes. He was so weird sometimes!

**At Arthur's House…**

Arthur sat at his desk in his room, doing his math homework when suddenly Buster burst in, eyes wild and panting for air.

"Arthur!" he cried, startling Arthur.

"What's wrong, Buster?" he asked, worried. He stood up and walked over to his best friend.

"Arthur, they have you in their grasp! You need to fight it!_ Don't let the aliens win!" _Buster yelled, grabbing Arthur's shoulders and shaking him. Arthur took a cautious step back.

"Buster, what in the world are you talking about?" he asked, slightly scared of Buster's erratic behavior.

"You don't really like Fern, it's the aliens mind control!"

Arthur got an embarrassed look on his face. "How did you know I liked Fern?" he asked with a blush.

"D.W. told me," Buster answered. Arthur's eyes narrowed.

"D.W.!" he muttered. He should have known it was her, she was such a loudmouth!

"Arthur, it's the aliens! They're brainwashed you into liking girls! You have to resist Arthur, it's your only hope!" Buster exclaimed, flailing his arms around.

"Buster, why would aliens want to brainwash me into liking girls?" Arthur asked with a disbelieving look. He was used to Buster's usual accusations about aliens, but this was a little over-the-top.

"They want to make everyone so distracted that they won't notice that they're trying to take over the world! But I'm not going to fall for it, and you can't fall for it either!" Buster declared.

Arthur just rolled his eyes. "Buster, there are no aliens and I'm not brainwashed!"

"Fine, but when aliens take over don't say I didn't warn you!" Buster said, irritated that his _best friend _wouldn't believe him! He turned around and left Arthur's house in a huff. As he walked down the sidewalk he kicked a pebble into the street. Why didn't anyone believe him? Maybe if Arthur heard it from Brain he'd believe it, but Brain didn't believe him either. What was he supposed to do?

As he passed the Sugar Bowl he looked inside and saw Brain sipping on an orange soda. Maybe he should try convincing Brain of the oncoming alien invasion again. He was supposed to be smart, so he should be able to see how logical Buster's theory was. He ducked inside the small restaurant and sat down across from Brain.

"Hey, Brain."

"Hello, Buster. You look slightly flustered, is anything wrong?" Brain asked, slightly concerned.

"Yes, you heard D.W. at the park, the aliens have brainwashed Arthur even more, and no one will believe me!" Buster ranted.

Brain let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes. "Buster, I already told you, Arthur hasn't been brainwashed by aliens, he's going through puberty. It's something everyone has to go through," Brain tried to explain, but Buster still had a stubborn expression on his face.

"Then how come I don't like girls? And how come you don't either?" Buster asked.

"I have no time for such frivolous things; I have work to be done. As for you, boys go through puberty at different ages, Arthur just went through it first." Buster still gave Brain a disbelieving look, so Brain continued.

"You'll go through it too eventually. It's affects kids differently, and girls usually go through puberty first. For example, I have a suspicion D.W. has a small crush on me, while I still don't find myself interested in girls yet-" Buster's eyes widened.

"Wait, D.W. likes you?" he asked in shock.

"I believe so, but it's typical for young girls to have crushes on older men. She'll grow out of it," Brain assured him, but Buster didn't buy it.

"Oh no, the aliens are getting kid's younger and younger! Soon they'll be brainwashing babies if we don't do something to stop them!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few customers who were seated nearby.

"Buster, get a hold of yourself!" Brain said, trying to calm him down.

"No! We're the only ones who haven't fallen for their alien tricks, we have to fight back!" Buster declared. "And if you won't help me then I'll do it by myself!"

With a huff Buster jumped out of his seat and ran out of the Sugar Bowl. As he ran home he found himself screeching to a halt when Francine suddenly appeared in front of him. She had on a baseball hat and a catcher's mitt in her hand. Buster looked to his right and saw the baseball field with Jenna standing on home plate with a bat in her hand. They must be practicing for the upcoming game on Friday.

Francine crossed her arms and gave Buster a sly smile. "Where are you hurrying off to so fast?"

"I have to get home and prepare for the alien invasion!" he exclaimed. Francine didn't even bat an eyelash. She was used to Buster's crazy alien theories by now.

"Oh, well I was just finishing up practicing, I'll walk with you," she offered with a smile. She turned and waved to Jenna before walking with Buster down the street.

"Francine, are you…are you interested in boys?" Buster asked her. If she wasn't then maybe she would see how crazy it was that Arthur and D.W. were. Maybe they could fight the alien invasion together.

"Do you like girls?" Francine countered, offering him a hopeful smile.

"No, of course not!" Buster said, and Francine's smile fell.

"Oh."

Suddenly Buster understood why Francine looked disappointed. "Oh no, Francine…do you _like_ me?" Buster asked, horrified. When Francine's cheeks turned a slightly shade of red and she didn't answer Buster's eyes widened in surprise and he ran away yelling,

"Oh, no! They've got Francine too!"

**Two Days Later…**

Fern looked around the classroom at her classmates as they waited for the last class of the day to be over. She glanced at Arthur from across the room and when he lifted his eyes and their gaze met Fern looked back down at her paper, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

She looked over at Buster whose eyes darted around the classroom suspiciously. He was sitting at the very end of this chair, as far away from Francine as he could get, who was sitting next to him. For the past couple of days he'd been acting weird, like he was expecting something terrible to happen. When she'd said hello to him earlier that day he'd nearly jumped out of his skin. He was unusually jumpy for some reason.

Suddenly the bell rang and Fern put away her books and slung her backpack over her shoulder before walking outside to where she knew her mom was waiting. When they got back from the Hair Salon two days ago her mom had grounded her for two weeks for going behind her back and disobeying her like that. Fern wasn't happy of course, but she'd expected it.

She hopped in the car and they drove to the Hair Salon on the other side of Elwood City. Even though everyone liked her new hair—something she'd come to realize was genuine—she was still glad she was getting rid of her purple hair. She didn't like waking up in the morning and looking in the mirror to see a girl who looked like she'd come out of the book _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. As soon as they got there Sally got Fern right up on a seat and walked over to a wall filled with an array of hair dyes. Her mom came over and they tried to find a hair dye that her mom approved off.

"We might have a color that would match her natural hair color. Do you have a picture of what she looked like before she dyed her hair?" Sally asked. Fern's mom filled out a small picture on her keychain of Fern in eighth grade. Sally looked at the picture for a second before reaching up and pulling a bottle with a brown colored liquid inside.

"You're in luck, we have that exact same color here," Sally told Fern's mom with a smile. Fern let out a groan from where she was sitting. _That would be just my luck…_she thought glumly as Sally walked back over to her and started to apply the liquid to Fern's hair.


	8. To Go Or Not To Go To The Dance

Sally turned the chair around so Fern was facing the mirror, and Fern was surprised when she saw her reflection in the mirro. It was the exact same color as before, but surprisingly, she was happy to see it back. She smiled to herself before looking up to see her mom standing behind her.

"It looks perfect," she said with a smile.

For once, Fern agreed with her.

**The Next Day…**

Fern sat at her desk in English class, quietly doing her work when suddenly the intercom let out a screeching sound. The teens let out yelps as they covered their ears against the loud sound.

"Testing, testing…" the principle's voice came over the intercom, and then he cleared his throat. "This is your principle Mr. Harris here to announce our annual Fall Ball. It is to be held next Thursday. The dance begins at 8 p.m. and ends at 11:30 p.m. It's going to be a night full of dancing and fun for everyone who attends! Dress code is formal and tickets are $5 a piece or two for $8, and are currently for sale at the front office. We hope to see you there!" As soon as the intercom went off the room was filled with excited chatter.

"Everyone, quiet down!" Mr. Knowles exclaimed, trying to talk over the students. "I understand you're excited, but there will be plenty of time to talk about the dance at lunchtime. I expect to see everyone doing their work right now."

The chatter died down, but everyone could feel the excitement in the air by the time lunch came. Everyone, or at least all the freshmen, were talking about the dance next week. Fern got her tray and walked over to the lunch table with her friends and sat down as Muffy and Francine talked excitedly about the dance.

"Who are you going to ask?" Muffy asked Francine.

"Well, I want to ask Buster, but he acts like he's afraid of me," Francine said, glancing over at Buster who was sitting two tables away from them. A couple days ago he randomly stopped sitting with them, and Arthur, being his best friend, always sat by him. Only Brain, George and Binky sat with the girls now.

"Ew! You like Buster?" Muffy nearly yelled. Francine slapped her hand over Muffy's mouth and looked around nervously to see if anyone had heard her. Thankfully, they were too caught up in their own conversations to notice, and Francine relaxed.

"You don't have to announce it to the whole school!" Francine snapped. Muffy glanced over at Buster and made a disgusted face before turning to Fern.

"And who are you going to ask to the dance?" Muffy asked.

"I don't think I'll be going. I'm not really a dancer," Fern said with a shrug.

"It's not about dancing, it's about having the best date and the best dress and _being seen_!" Muffy said with a dreamy look on her face.

"Oh yeah? And who are you going with, Miss Popular?" Francine asked sarcastically.

"For your information, Francine, I haven't decided yet! I'm looking for the perfect guy! As you know, perfection can't be rushed," Muffy said with a flip of her hair. Francine just rolled her eyes and went back to stabbing her macaroni with her fork. Fern looked across the tables to see Buster sitting alone at his table. Fern raised an eyebrow. Arthur always sat with Buster, so where was he? Suddenly a tray plopped down next to Fern and she turned to see Arthur sitting down.

"Hey, Fern," he said with a smile.

"Hello, Arthur. Why aren't you sitting with Buster?" she asked, and when she saw the smile disappear from his face she realized how that sounded.

"Uh, not that I don't want you to sit here, it's just that I noticed you always sit with Buster, and now you're not and…never mind," she blabbered on, feeling like a fool while Arthur just chuckled.

"I wanted to ask you something…" Arthur started, and Fern nodded for him to go on. "Well, I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me." Francine and Muffy gasped, both craning their heads to see the new development. Fern blushed and immediately dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Um, I don't know…" she said, biting down on her lip. "I'm not that good of a dancer."

"Oh. Well, can you think about it?" Arthur asked hopefully, and Fern nodded. Arthur gave her a smile before picking up his tray and walking over to Buster's table. As soon as Arthur was out of hearing distance the girls bombarded Fern with questions.

"Why did you turn him down?" "Are you going to go with him?" "Can I help you pick out your dress?" "Do you know what you're going to do with your hair?"

Fern didn't know which question to answer first, so she simply said, "I don't even know if I want to go."

"Fern, you should go!" Muffy encouraged her. "Arthur may not be the best date, but he's better than Buster!" Francine shot her a cold glare, but Muffy either didn't notice or she didn't care.

"I said I'll think about it," Fern said, and then she turned back to her food.

**After School…**

As Fern walked home she thought about Arthur's offer. She really liked him, and she wanted to go…but she wasn't the best dancer and showing off her clumsiness in front of the entire school didn't seem like a very fun idea to her. By the time she got home she'd decided she would go. After all, who said she had to dance? There would be tables to sit down and talk and a snack bar along with a punch bowl. She could occupy her time with those things _and_ have a fun night with Arthur without making a fool out of herself. As soon as she got home she went straight to her mom who had just gotten home from selling a house.

"Mom?" Fern started, and her mom put down the contract she was looking at to give her daughter her full attention. "There's a dance next Thursday and Arthur asked me to go with him today. Can I go?" Fern was absolutely sure her mom would say yes, so she was surprised when her mom answered with a flat out, "No."

Fern furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"

"Don't you remember? You're still grounded for another week and a half," she reminded her. Fern felt a sinking feeling inside of her. She'd totally forgot about that!

"But…but, mom, please?" she begged her mom.

"I'm sorry, but no. You'll just have to tell Arthur you can't go," she said and when she saw the sad look on Fern's face her expression softened a little bit. "Don't worry, Ferny. There will be other dances, trust me."

Fern just turned around and went up to her room. She plopped down on her desk chair and pulled out her notebook she'd been working on since the beginning of school. Whenever she felt down she worked on her story.

**The Next Day…**

Fern got to school early the next day since her mom had to be at a house early to show it to a client. She walked up the stairs and entered the almost deserted hallway. She walked up to her locket and gathered her English books before heading to the classroom. When she got there she realized with a frustrated groan that it was locked. She turned around and slid down the wall, determined to sit there until someone came and opened the classroom door. Suddenly a shadow appeared in front of her. Fern looked up to see Arthur standing in front of her.

"Hi, Arthur. What are you doing here so early?" she asked, standing up.

"My mom had to drop D.W. off early at school to practice for a play or something, so she decided to drop me off while she was out," Arthur said with a shrug. "Why are you here so early?"

"My mom had to get to a house early to give her clients a tour," Fern answered. Arthur nodded in understanding. A brief silence followed where neither of them knew what to say, until finally Arthur broke the silence.

"So, have you decided if you're going to the dance or not?" Arthur asked and Fern let out a sigh. She'd been dreading this: telling Arthur that she couldn't go. He may never want to go out with her again if she turned him down! As Fern felt this fear bubbling up inside her she felt anger at her mom. How could she be so unfair? Finally Fern looked back up at Arthur and smiled.

"Yes, I have decided," she said with a smile. "I'll go with you."

**Next Thursday…**

Fern stood in front of her mirror, looking at the dress Muffy had picked out for her. Since she was still grounded she couldn't go shopping with Muffy, and since she didn't have any dresses in her closet she'd had to trust Muffy to pick out her dress. Fern was just thankful Francine had been there with Muffy to keep her from picking out something too flashy and extravagant. She was pleasantly surprised when two days ago Muffy showed up at her doorsteps (while her mother was out, so she wouldn't suspect a thing) with a simple, but beautiful knee-length white dress with a red sash around the waist. She'd also bought Fern a pair of ruby red slippers that reminded her of the one's Dorothy wore in _The Wizard Of Oz_. Suddenly she heard footsteps marching up the stairs.

"Fern, are you up there?" she heard her mom call. She panicked and looked around frantically. She knew she didn't have time to change back into her other clothes _and _hide the dress. She ran over to her bed and yanked the covers up to her chin just as her mom opened her door.

"Fern, what are you doing in bed? It's only seven," her mom said with an amused expression on her face.

"I just felt tired, so I decided to go to bed early," Fern lied, faking a yawn.

"Well, alright. I'll leave you alone then," her mom said, turning out the lights and closing the door behind her. Fern smiled as soon as her mom was gone. She'd be free for the rest of the night since her mom thought she was going to bed. She was thankful that she didn't have the kind of parents that check up on their kids at night, otherwise her plan would be a disaster. She slowly pushed the covers away and turned on the flashlight that was lying on the desk beside her bed. She knew that if she turned on her light her mom would become suspicious if she passed by her room later and saw light shining out from under the door. She walked over to her mirror and shone the light in it while she grabbed a brush and a curler she'd found in her mom's bathroom.

In half an hour she looked at her appearance in the mirror and smile to herself. She had curled her hair and left it to hang loosely around her shoulders. She was never one for extravagant hairstyles like Muffy. She took a deep breath before picking up her flashlight and walking over to her window. She silently slid it open and peered out from her room on the second floor. She knew getting down—especially in a dress and low high-heels—would be difficult. She put one leg out the window and then made sure she wouldn't slip before putting her other foot out. She left her flashlight on the small window sill before closing it behind her. She got down on her hands and knees and crawled over to one of the pillars below the roof. She crawled over to the end of the roof outside her window and looked down before realizing her predicament.

There was no way she would be able to reach the pole, since it was underneath the roof. She realized she should have brought a rope or something she could tie to her window sill and climb down from. She sat on the roof and tried to figure out a way to get down. She knew she couldn't just go downstairs and walk out the front door since her parents were still up. She knew the only way she would be able to go to the dance was if she could get down from the roof outside her bedroom window, since it was already dark and her parents always had the window curtains closed. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. What was she going to do?

* * *

**Wow, it's been almost a week! Sorry it took so long to get this up. I've been busy, but I haven't forgotten about the story, and I still have a lot in store for this! =)**


	9. Jealousy

Fern was just about to give up and go back to her room when she spotted a dark shadow walking down the street. When the person came into the range of light under the street lamp she realized it was George. He was dressed in a tux complete with a bowtie, and he was headed in the direction of the school. Suddenly Fern got an idea.

"George!" she whispered loudly. She didn't want her parents to hear her and get suspicious, but she knew if she wasn't loud enough George wouldn't hear her either. "George!" He still didn't turn around she knew she was quickly losing her window of opportunity.

She looked around desperately before picking up a small pebble she found on the roof next to her. She flung it at George but instead it hit the branch of an apple tree right above him and an apple fell and hit him on the head. He looked around wildly before running off, looking behind him as if something might be chasing him. When he turned around he let out a yelp before smacking into a tree. He fell back down on the ground and rubbed his head. He stood up a few minutes later and looked around. When he saw Fern standing on her roof, waving and flailing her arms around to get his attention he walked over to her with a confused expression on his face.

"What are you doing up there?" he asked. Fern brought her finger to her mouth to show him he had to be quieter, then motioned for him to come closer.

"I need help getting down," she admitted. George looked around for something to use before realizing there was nothing there.

"Ok. You jump and I'll catch you," he whispered, holding his arms open. Fern bit down on her lip. She wasn't so sure that was the best idea…but then again, she didn't have a better idea. She quietly scooted to the edge of the roof before looking down with a gulp.

"Are you sure you'll be able to catch me?" she whispered nervously.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll catch you," he promised. Fern took a deep breath before jumping off. She felt a drop in her stomach before landing on something hard. She looked up and realized she'd landed on George, and right now she was laying on top of him…and their noses were almost touching. George let out a breath of relief and Fern could feel his breath on her cheek, making her heart race against her will. She felt her face get warm when George looked up at her and his deep brown eyes met her light blue ones.

"Um, can you get off? You're kind of crushing me," he gasped. Fern snapped out of…well, whatever it was, and jumped up.

"I'm so sorry. Are you Ok?" she asked, offering him her hand.

"Yeah," he took her hand and stood back up. "That didn't really go as planned…" Fern laughed before turning back to look at her house. When she realized no one was rushing to the door to find out where that noise had come from and let out a sigh of relief. She was safe now.

"So, can you tell me why you were on your roof in a dress?" he asked her.

"Let's talk on our way to the dance," she suggested, looking back at her house uncertainly. They started walking down the street and Fern began her story.

"Well, my mother grounded me for dying my hair behind her back, so when Arthur asked me to go to the dance I didn't want to say no, but my mom said I was still grounded, so I decided to sneak out to go to the dance anyways," she explained all in one breath.

"Y-you're going to the dance with Arthur?" George asked quietly, and she nodded. The rest of the walk to the dance was silent, but not in an uncomfortable way. Fern liked how she could be with George and not feel like she had to make small talk or say anything. It was always peaceful, and she preferred to be silent than make idle chatter. When they got to the school they went straight to the gym to see streamers hanging from the ceiling and party decorations placed everywhere.

"Thanks for helping me get down from the roof," Fern said as they stood at the entrance. "Well, I guess I better go find Arthur. Is your date here yet?"

"I didn't bring a date," George said with a shrug.

"Oh. Well, I still hope you have fun," she said with a smile before waving to him and heading in the gym. Music was blasting from speakers on one side of the room while a senior who was acting as the DJ stood in the middle against one wall, telling everyone when a song was requested or when a song was dedicated to someone.

"Hey, Fern!" a voice exclaimed from behind her. She turned around to see Arthur standing there. He was wearing a white button up shirt with long sleeves and black pants with black shoes to complete the outfit. He was dressed up but casual at the same time.

"Hi, Arthur," she said with a smile. He looked at her dress before meeting her eyes again.

"You look pretty," he said, blushing as he said it, and it had the same effect on her.

"Would you like to dance now?" he asked quickly. She looked up in alarm. This is exactly what she'd hoped to avoid, but she didn't want to disappoint Arthur either…

"Um…well, I'm not exactly the best dancer…" she mumbled, biting her lip, and Arthur let out a laugh.

"I'm not either, but I don't want that to stop me from having fun," he said with a shrug, glancing out to the dance floor.

"Ok," she tentatively agreed, "but only for one dance!"

Arthur nodded in agreement before taking Fern's hand and leading her out to the dance floor. He put one arm around her waist and held her other hand in his, like he'd seen a guy do in a movie once. Fern put one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand, mimicking what she'd seen in an old Jane Austen movie. Neither knew how to dance, or really knew what came next. The song quickly ended and Fern was glad; it had been awkward dancing with someone who knew as little about dancing as you did. Fern and Arthur both agreed to take a break and they headed to the decorated tables at one end of the room.

Arthur offered to get Fern a drink, also like he'd seen in the movie, even though Fern was too shy to admit that she wasn't really thirsty. Arthur left to get the drink, leaving Fern all alone at the tables. She listened to the music that was echoing through the room. She vaguely remembered the song being played on the popular radio stations that Francine and Muffy liked to listen to. It was by a girl named Carly and it consisted of her giving her number to a guy. Suddenly someone appeared in front of Fern, casting a slight shadow over her. She looked up from the dirt specks she had been counting on the dirty gym floor to see George standing in front of her with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Fern. Where is Arthur?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"He's over at the snack table getting me a drin…" she started to explain, but trailed off when she looked over there and saw Arthur standing to the side of the table, talking to Sue Ellen. He leaned forward and whispered something to her and she giggled. Fern felt my stomach clench uncomfortably and she suddenly felt angry at Sue Ellen. She could feel different emotions welling up in the pit of her stomach and it almost felt like it was coursing through her veins. She bit down on her lip to keep from running over there and saying something she might regret later.

Sue Ellen had longer hair than when she saw her last, and it was combed back on the sides with golden colored berets to hold it into place. She had on a floor length flowing blue dress with a golden colored sash around the waist and straps that seemed to effortlessly drape over her shoulders. Fern suddenly felt inadequate when she looked at her. She was beautiful, even more than Muffy who seemed to shine in the new dress she bought just for the occasion. Fern looked down at her own dress and wished Muffy had picked out something prettier. No wonder Arthur wanted to talk to Sue Ellen rather than her, she was everything Fern wished she could be!

"I have to go now," she mumbled to George before heading towards Francine and Muffy at the opposite side of the gym, as far away from Arthur and Sue Ellen as she could get. She could see Francine and Muffy talking excitedly about something.

"You look great, Fern!" Muffy exclaimed when Fern walked over to them. Fern smiled, but it was only half-heartedly. Suddenly Binky appeared next to Muffy with a cup of punch in his hand. He handed it to Muffy before turning to Fern and saying, 'hi.'

"Binky, could you go get me a small plate of chips?" Muffy asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. He seemed to melt like putty in her hands and he nodded numbly before setting off towards the snack table.

"Fern, did you hear? Muffy's date is Binky," Francine announced with a smirk. Fern could tell she was holding in a laugh. The innocent expression suddenly turned to a scowl as soon as Binky left.

"Only because there were no other guys left! Believe me, I would have gone with anyone else if they'd asked me!" Muffy said in her defense, crossing her arms. "And at least _I_ got a date!"

"You didn't ask Buster?" Fern asked, remembering their conversation a week ago.

Francine let out a sigh. "I was going too, but every time I got close enough to talk to him, he ran away screaming about aliens or something like that," Francine explained with an eye roll. She suddenly looked across the room with a smile on her face. Fern turned to see Buster entering the gym with casual, yet dressy, clothes on, like Arthur. Remembering her date, Fern looked across the gym to see Arthur still talking to Sue Ellen. When she saw Sue Ellen place a hand on Arthur's shoulder and say something with a sly smile on herself Fern felt those unpleasant feeling starting up again.

"I'm going to ask Buster if he wants to dance," Francine with a determined look on her face as she crossed over to the entrance, leaving Fern and Muffy alone. Fern watched as Francine approached Buster, but as soon as he caught sight of her he set off in the other direction, while Francine chased him around the gym. Fern would have laughed if she hadn't been feeling so down. She turned to look back at Muffy who had a sour expression on her face.

"Hey, didn't you come with Arthur?" she asked as she took a sip of her punch. "Where is he?"

Fern looked down at the ground and didn't answer. When she looked back up she saw Muffy scanning the crowd of freshmen. When she eyes landed on Arthur and Sue Ellen over at the punch table she gasped.

"How rude! I would _never_ let another girl flirt with _my_ man!" Muffy said with her head held high. Muffy had just described how Fern was feeling. She half wanted to go over to Sue Ellen and tell her that Arthur was _hers,_ but she'd heard stories of girls who got in fights with other girls who even looked at their date, and she didn't want to be like _those_ girls, no matter how much she might feel like doing that for a moment. She didn't understand why she suddenly disliked Sue Ellen; she'd always been a good friend and a cool person, but now this and…she didn't know how to feel.

"Speaking of dates…where is Binky?" Muffy mumbled, looking for Binky now. "Oh, he's talking to Jenna! I better go get him."

Even though Muffy had said just earlier she would have loved to go to the dance with anyone else Fern could detect a hint of jealousy in her voice as she waved to Fern before setting off after Binky. Fern looked around to see Francine cornering Buster while he looked around frantically. Suddenly George appeared in front of Fern with a smile on his face.

"Are you having fun?" he asked sheepishly, and Fern didn't want to lie, yet she didn't feel like explaining how she felt to George who was sure to question her if she told him the truth. She decided on an indifferent approach, and simply shrugged in response.

"I know what will cheer you up!" George chirped, holding out a hand to Fern. "Do you want to dance?"

Fern was about to tell George that she never wanted to dance again after how awkward it had been with Arthur, when she caught a glimpse of Arthur leading Sue Ellen out to the dance floor. She suddenly felt angry at the both of them, and she wished she could show Arthur exactly how she felt. She turned back to George with a smile.

"Sure."


	10. Don't Stop Believin'

George led Fern out to the dance floor as the previous song ended and they waited for the next song to begin.

"I don't know how to dance," Fern admitted worriedly. She didn't want this to be as bad as when she danced with Arthur.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead and you'll be great."

She went to put her hand on his shoulder but he stopped her and took her hand in his own.

"That's only for ballroom dancing," he said as he took her other hand in his. _No wonder dancing with Arthur was awkward, we'd been dancing all wrong!_ she thought to herself. Suddenly _Don't Stop Believin'_ started playing. Fern perked up immediately. She was never one for the new, popular songs they played on the radio, so she always listened to the old songs her parents played around the house. This had been one of her favorites.

"I love this song!" George exclaimed but then he glanced over at Fern and his eyes dropped to the ground. "You probably think that's weird, don't you?"

They started to dance and for some reason Fern found that dancing with George wasn't hard; all she had to do was follow his moves and it came as easily as walking.

"No, just the opposite. I love this song too, I play it all the time!" Fern replied. A smirk formed on George's face and he started singing, but he was off a little with the timing of the words.

_"Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world,"_ he sang, and a few people turned to stare at him in irritation. He wasn't the best singer, but Fern knew he was just singing to have fun and make her laugh. It worked and for the next part she joined in.

_"She took the midnight train going anywhere,"_ they both sang. They couldn't continue singing after that, they were both laughing and dancing around the dance floor. Suddenly Fern felt George's hand leave hers and felt him spin her around before he spun her back. She felt herself wrapped up in his arms before he spun her back around to face him and grabbed her hand again. She couldn't help but blush; when she had square danced with George in third grade he'd never been _this_ good, and now he was like a young John Travolta.

The dance seemed to go by too fast and before she knew it, the guitar chords were fading. She was about to stop when George suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and dipped her. For a second she was afraid she would fall, but when she realized she was safe she leaned her head back and laughed. She couldn't remember when she'd had this much fun!

The song ended and she stood up straight. She felt a pang of sadness that the moment had ended but George just held out his hand with a smile. A Shakira song started and Fern took his hand.

"This song is like a tango, so this might a little faster than the last dance," he said before spinning her around. As the music sped up everything else seemed to fade away to Fern and all she could feel was George's hand in hers and her feet moving in time to the song. For her it ended all too fast, and by the end she was out of breath. She felt her heart beating fast, and she wasn't sure if it was just the dancing…

"See? You're not a bad dancer," he said with a smile. Fern nodded and suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder.

She turned around to see Arthur standing behind her. She'd almost forgot about him. She felt her lips turn up in a smile when she saw he looked irritated; just like she'd felt a little while ago.

"Hey, Fern. I got your punch," he said, holding up a red Solo cup.

"Um, thanks," she said, taking a step away from George and taking the cup from Arthur.

"Maybe we should go sit down," Arthur suggested, looking down at the floor with a frown.

"Yeah," Fern agreed. She turned to George with a nod before walking to the table with Arthur. They both sat down and an awkward silence started to surround them. Fern took a sip of her punch, feeling awkward just sitting there not doing anything. Every once in a while Arthur would glance up at Fern and then drop his gaze back down to the floor. Neither of them knew what to say, and Fern knew that even if she did know what she wanted to say, she didn't want to talk to Arthur anyways.

"Fern…" Arthur finally said, and Fern looked up at him with a glare.

"What?" she snapped, and Arthur looked at her in confusion.

"Why are you mad at me?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You should know," she said, glancing across the room at Sue Ellen who was standing against the wall, talking to Brain. Arthur followed Fern's gaze and when he saw Sue Ellen he let out a sigh.

"Is this because I danced with Sue Ellen?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You danced with George."

"Yeah, because you left me all alone to go dance with Sue Ellen," she countered.

"What's wrong with that?"

"You really don't get it? How did you feel when I danced with George?"

Arthur let out a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm new to this whole teenage, liking-girls thing. Can we just forget this ever happened?" he asked. Fern was silent for a moment, thinking it over. She hated fighting with people, especially Arthur.

"Fine."

For the rest of the dance it was tense between Fern and Arthur, and neither one really knew what to do. Fern didn't want to dance, and neither did Arthur. Both of them were still a little irritated with each other, so they both kept quiet until the dance was over.

When the dance finally ended at 11:30 Fern was glad. She waited with Arthur until his mom came to pick him up, then she started home. She hadn't gotten ten feet from the school when George rushed up beside her.

"I can walk you home," he offered and Fern smiled.

"Thanks."

"So, how are you going to get back to your bedroom?" George asked and Fern frowned. She hadn't thought of that…how _would_ she get back to her room? She didn't have a way to climb up to the roof, and she knew the front door would be locked. Maybe one of the windows would be unlocked…

"Um, well I'm hoping one of the windows will be unlocked," she admitted with a shrug. When they got to her house Fern ran to the back window and tried to pull it up, but it wouldn't budge.

"Maybe one of the other windows will be unlocked," George suggested. Fern nodded but knew that if one window was locked, they all probably were. They went around checking all the windows, but they were all locked. Fern walked to the front lawn and sat down.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked, burying her face in her hands. If she had just stayed home none of this would have happened! She wouldn't have had to jump from the roof, she wouldn't have had that fight with Arthur, and she wouldn't be sitting out on her lawn right now, wishing she could fly.

"I think I can help," George said with a smile before turning and running down the street. "Wait right there!"

Fern watched him disappear down the street with a confused look on her face. Ten minutes later she was about to give up and just stake out a place to sleep on the front porch when she saw George walking back, carrying something behind him. When he got closer she saw that it was a ladder. She ran over to George and picked up the other end.

"George, did you carry this all the way from your house?" she asked in surprise, and George nodded. Fern smiled and when they finally set the ladder down in her front yard Fern walked over to George. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug.  
"Thanks," she said, and she noticed a funny smile on George's face before he set up the ladder against the roof. Fern climbed up the ladder and let out a sigh of relief when she stepped onto the roof. She turned back to wave down to George to let him know she was Ok. He smiled before taking the ladder away. He watched her until she crawled back into her bedroom window before walking down the street, the ladder in tow.

Fern watched him disappear down the street with a smile spreading across her face. She couldn't believe he'd go through all that trouble just to make sure she could get back to her room so she wouldn't be caught. He was so sweet, but that was just typical George. She walked over to her desk and turned on the small lamp.

She took out her _Sherlock Holmes_ book and started to read it. There was no way she would be able to go to sleep after all that happened tonight. After she read through a short story she put the book back and thought about all the fun she'd had…despite the bad parts.

She pulled her notebook out from under her book and flipped to the middle, right where she left off. She got writer's block a few days ago after she wrote about Winston putting together a Christmas party when he hears Kinsley talking about how sad she is that she'll miss spending it with her parents. She left off with Kinsley walking in to the surprise celebration, and then…well, Fern wasn't immune to writer's block anymore than the next writer.

But as she stared at the place where she left off and she thought about the dance, suddenly inspiration hit her. She replayed in her head the dance she shared with Arthur and started writing. She wrote about how Kinsley danced with Winston in ballroom style dancing. Suddenly her brain seemed to swerve off course and she remembered the free sensation she felt when she danced with George and suddenly she started writing about Winston dancing the tango with Kinsley. Fern smiled to herself and she put her pencil down, thinking about the dance she shared with George.

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**Wow, I'm****_ so_**** sorry it's been so long since I updated this-like 6 months! I could blame college, but that's only a small part of it. **

**Anyways, I'm still gonna finish this story, even if it's the last thing I do! I have the rest all planned out, and even have a spin-off planned that I might or might not do. Either way, updates should be coming soon...hopefully.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! =)**


	11. Slumber Parties And Secrets

The next morning Fern woke up slumped over her desk-still in her dress from last night. She sat up sleepily and saw early morning rays of sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. Suddenly there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Fern, are you up?" her mother's voice asked from the other side of the door. Fern's eyes widened and she jumped into bed, yanking the covers up to her chin.

"Don't come in, I'm changing!" she called out.

"Alright. I just wanted to make sure you were awake," her mother replied. When Fern heard her footsteps retreat down the stairs she let out a sigh. She couldn't believe she was actually able to sneak out of her room, go to the dance, and sneak back in without her parents finding out!

Fern walked over to her desk and quickly slipped her notebook into her backpack. Then she quickly changed out of the wrinkled dress and hid it away in her closet. She could always wash it at Muffy's house later. She slipped into a t-shirt and pair of jeans and raced downstairs for breakfast with her backpack slung across her shoulder. When she was finished with breakfast her mom drove her to school.

Fern wasn't looking forward to seeing Arthur today, and on the drive to school she wondered if things would ever be the same between her and Arthur. They agreed to forget about what happened, so why did Fern still feel upset about it?

Fern pushed the thoughts aside when she entered the school and walked up to her locker. She spun the combination and was surprised when she opened the door and found a neatly folded note lying on top of a box of chocolates. She raised an eyebrow and took it out before carefully unfolding it. When she saw the familiar handwriting she couldn't help but smile.

_"You can be Cher and I'll be your Sonny_

_I can be the bee and you can be the honey_

_You can be the sock and I'll be the shoe_

_You can be the captain, and I'll be your crew_

_You can be Sherlock and I'll be your Watson_

_You can be the water and I'll be the basin_

_You can be the sqirle and I'll be the tree_

_I can be the waves and you can be the sea_

_I can be the grass and you can be the dew_

_It doesn't matter as long as I can be with you_

_I know I could never deserve a girl so great_

_But I'd like to be the William to your Kate_

_From,_

_Your Secret Admirer"_

The perfectionist in Fern noted that her 'secret admirer' had spelled 'squirrel' wrong, but she blushed nonetheless and thought it was cute. She held it close to her chest and suddenly every negative thing she thought about Arthur before seemed to vanish like a puff of smoke.

Fern knew she must have been lost in thought because when a hand landed on her shoulder she nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around to see Muffy standing behind her and she let out a sigh.

"Hey, Fern," Muffy greeted her, and Fern noticed she had a stack of green envelopes in her hand.

"I can't imagine how terrible it must have felt last night to have another girl flirting with your man, but I know how to cheer you up!" Muffy said, giving Fern a sympathetic look. She took one of the envelopes from the top of the pile and handed it to Fern. "And don't worry, I _won't_ be inviting Sue Ellen after what she did!" Muffy added as she walked away.

Fern looked down at the envelope and ripped it open. She unfolded the intricately decorated stationary paper and found it was an invitation to Muffy's annual slumber party. Fern smiled before slipping it into her pocket, along with the poem, and then took the box of chocolates and put it in her backpack. She grabbed her books and rushed to class. Once she got there she sat down at her usual seat next to George and he smiled at her.

"Did your parents find out?" he asked as the teacher walked in. Fern shook her head hastily before turning to see Arthur sitting at his assigned seat a few desks away. He caught her gaze and she smiled at him. He looked surprised at first, but returned the smile. When lunch finally came around Fern got her food and headed for the table where Arthur was sitting, but Muffy caught up with her first.

"Hey, Fern. Come eat with us," she said, nodding towards a table where Francine, Jenna, and Prunella were already sitting.

"Um, ok," Fern said uncertainly. She wanted to talk to Arthur, but she figured she could always do it later. She walked over to the table and sat down next to Prunella.

"Did you get an invitation too? I can't wait until the sleepover!" Prunella gushed. Even though she was a grade ahead of all the other girls, she still liked to hangout with them occasionally.

"And it's gonna be even better this year!" Muffy exclaimed, sitting down across from the other girls.

"My daddy is hiring a-" Muffy began, but she suddenly stopped talking and a frown took the place of her smile. Fern was confused for a moment until she saw Sue Ellen walk up to Muffy and sit down next to her.

"Hey, girls," she greeted them with a smile. Muffy simply sniffed and turned her head away, as if she smelled something bad.

"Francine, Fern, Jenna, Prunella," Muffy said, giving Sue Ellen a cold glare, "I think this table is a little too crowded. Let's move to that one over there."

All the girls picked up their trays while Sue Ellen looked at them with a bewildered and hurt expression on her face. Fern almost felt pity for her, but then she reminded herself of what Sue Ellen did last night, and her sympathy for her almost vanished…almost. As the girls settled down at the other table Fern couldn't help but glance back at Sue Ellen and feel bad for her…despite everything.

**At Arthur's Table…**

Arthur glanced at Fern from across the cafeteria and caught her smiling at him. He could feel his cheeks turning red. Fern must have found the present he put in her locker and forgiven him. When he'd left the dance last night she barely said two words to him, and now she was staring at him…and smiling too! He'd have to thank his mom later for the idea. Somehow she always knew just what to do. He thought she'd overreacted last night when he danced with Sue Ellen, and maybe she realized that…of course a peace offering never hurt anyone…

"And then the alien said to the cow-" Buster said, but Arthur turned and interrupted him.

"Hey, I'm gonna be right back."

"But I'm not done with my alien story!" Buster whined, but Arthur ignored him and walked over to Fern. As soon as he got near the table all the girls turned to glare at him. He felt a little intimidated and wondered if they were mad because Fern told them what happened. He shook his head and ignored the stares, walking up to Fern.

"Hey, Fern, do you wanna go see a movie sometime? The new movie _Love and Candles_ is coming out tomorrow," he said shyly. Arthur hated romance movies and the only time he went to see them was when D.W. made him go, but he'd go to one if it would make Fern happy.

"Fern doesn't want to-" Muffy began, but Fern quickly interrupted her.

"I'd love too go see a movie. But how about we go see that new mystery movie, _Danger In Every Corner?_" Fern suggested. Arthur perked up at this idea, and nodded enthusiastically. He'd seen a trailer for that movie, and it looked awesome!

"Sure. Ok, well I'll see you later!" Arthur said, sticking his hands in his pockets awkwardly before walking back to his table.

**Back At Fern's Table…**

Fern couldn't stop blushing, even though her friends were looking at her like she had an extra head or something. She couldn't believe Arthur asked her out on a date…a real date…like the older teenagers went on! All the doubts she had about things not being the same between Arthur and her suddenly melted away.

"Why did you do that?" Muffy demanded, breaking the silence. Fern turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Why'd you agree to go on a date with _him,_" Muffy said, refusing to use his name, "after what happened?"

"Because, well…" Fern looked around before reaching into her backpack and pulling out the box of chocolates. "I found this in my locker this morning."

Muffy took one look at the small box and sniffed. "Fern, I'm surprised at you! Does he think your forgiveness can be bought at such a low price? I've seen those chocolate boxes at the convenience store, they only cost about a dollar a box."

Fern let out a sigh. Should she tell Muffy about the secret admirer note? She had liked having a secret admirer that no one knew about. Sort of like a secret just between her and her 'mystery man.' Of course, she knew the girls would never leave her alone about forgiving Arthur so easily if she _didn't_ tell them, and she didn't want them to think badly of Arthur…especially since he'd written her something so sweet!

"Well, he left me a poem too…" Fern began. She reached into her pocket and pulled the paper out before reluctantly handing it over to Muffy. When Muffy read it she gasped and then let out a sigh.

"Oh, that is _so_ romantic!" she said with a dreamy look on her face. "Are you sure Arthur wrote it?"

"Yeah. D.W. told me it was from him," Fern said, and then she took the poem back.

"Alright, fine. He's officially forgiven."

"Ok, but listen, you can't tell _anyone_ else, because I don't think Arthur wants me to know it's him yet, otherwise he would have signed his name."

"Don't worry, your secret is safe within the sisterhood!" Muffy whispered, and all the girls nodded in unison. Fern smiled and relaxed in her seat. Looks like things were finally taking a turn for the better.

**Later That Day…**

"And if you can't find a whole number as a square root, then you use a decimal or a fraction," the math teacher droned on. Fern shifted uncomfortably in her chair and crossed her legs. She'd had to use the restroom for the past ten minutes, but she was waiting for Sue Ellen, who had the hall pass, to get back. _What could possibly take her ten minutes? _Fern thought to herself as she sat up and raised her hand.

"Yes, Fern?" the teacher called out.

"May I go to the restroom?" she asked as she stretched out her legs underneath the desk.

"Well, someone already has the hall pass…" the teacher said slowly, glancing at the door.

"Please?" Fern practically begged.

"Alright, but be quick," he said, turning back to the board. Fern nearly leaped out of her chair and walked quickly out the door and down the hall. When she got to the door she was about to push it open when she heard a soft sound from inside. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she silently pushed open the door and peered in.

She was surprised to see Sue Ellen standing in front of the mirror, wiping her eyes with a paper towel. Her eyes were red, and Fern was sure she saw tear marks staining her face before she wiped them away. Sue Ellen sniffled, and Fern felt a pang of guilt in her chest. She was sure that Sue Ellen was crying because of how cold the girls acted towards her earlier.

"Sue Ellen?" Fern whispered, her voice tight. Sue Ellen's head snapped up and her eyes widened in surprise, but when she saw Fern standing there she narrowed his eyes at her. She crumpled up the paper towel and tossed it into the garbage can before pushing past Fern and walking away.

Now Fern felt even more guilty. Ok, so maybe she had been flirting with Arthur, but did she really deserve all this? Fern bit down on her lip, torn between two feelings. Part of her felt that Sue Ellen deserved this for flirting with Arthur when he clearly went to the dance with _her_, but the other part felt that maybe they were being a little _too_ harsh about it. After all, Sue Ellen was tough, so she must be really upset if she was crying!

Fern hung her head in shame. She had played a part in this, and now she had to fix it. Maybe she could convince Muffy to invite Sue Ellen to her slumber party. That would make her feel better!

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**Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this, so I hope this chapter makes up for it! :) Things are gonna get _really_ interesting in the next chapter, and I should have it out soon.**


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